Natural History in Anecdote Illustrating the nature, habits, manners and customs of animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, etc., etc., etc.

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Title: Natural History in Anecdote

Illustrating the nature, habits, manners and customs of

animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, etc., etc., etc.

Author: Various

Editor: Alfred Henry Miles

Release Date: November 10, 2011 [EBook #37959]

Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE ***

Produced by Malcolm Farmer, LN Yaddanapudi and the Online

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Natural History in Anecdote

ILLUSTRATING THE NATURE,

HABITS, MANNERS AND CUSTOMS,

OF ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISHES,

REPTILES, ETC., ETC., ETC.

ARRANGED AND EDITED BY

ALFRED H. MILES

EDITOR OF

"1001 Anecdotes, The New Standard Elocutionist, The Poets and the Poetry of the Century, The A1 Reciters, The Aldine Reciters", etc., etc.

London

HUTCHINSON & CO.

34 PATERNOSTER ROW

A. C. FOWLER,

PRINTER,

MOORFIELDS, LONDON.

Tiger Hunting

PREFACE.

Illustrations are like windows to the house of knowledge. They let light in upon the understanding, and they facilitate the outlook upon truth and beauty. To illustrate is to help one sense by the use of another, to reason by analogy, and to teach the unknown by the known. When definition fails, illustration often carries conviction, and the most successful teachers are those who make the best use of sound and telling illustrations. How many lessons would have been wholly forgotten by us, but for the illustrations which made their meanings clear, and left their truths for ever in our minds?

The book of nature is full of illustrations which help the understanding of the book of life, and no illustrations are more valuable and fascinating, whether as revelations of the order and habits of Nature herself, or as parallels and parables, full of suggestive application to the social and moral life of humanity, than those afforded by the study of Natural History.

To gather into a convenient volume Illustrative Anecdotes of Natural History, which shall throw light upon the study of Animal Life, for those pursuing it for its own sake, and help to the understanding of Nature herself is the primary object of this work, while it is hoped that it may serve a secondary purpose of no small utility, in suggesting social and moral parallels.

With a view to its first purpose the illustrations are classified in order as those of Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Fishes, etc., etc., and as much knowledge of Natural History as can be conveyed in anecdote form has been attempted. The book will thus, it is hoped, be a valuable aid to the teacher of Natural History, as a manual of illustrations for his lessons, as well as full of interest to the general reader, who may not wish to devote the time necessary to more exhaustive scientific study.

A. H. M.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Science, 1

The Kingdoms of Nature, 1

Zoology, 2

Classification, 2

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM—Sub-Kingdom Vertebrata

Class I.—Mammalia

ORDER I—PRIMATES

Sub-Order I.—Man-Shaped Animals

The Ape Family, 3

The Gorilla, 4

The Ancestors of the Gorilla, 4

A Gorilla Hunt, 5

Du Chaillu's First Gorilla, 7

A Young Gorilla, 9

Gorilla Superstitions, 10

The Chimpanzee, 11

The Docility of the Chimpanzee, 11

The Orang-Utan, 12

The Habits of the Orang-Utan, 12

The Walk of the Orang-Utan, 13

The Strength of the Orang-Utan, 14

The Docility of the Orang-Utan, 14

The Orang-Utan's Intelligence, 15

The Orang-Utan's Affection, 15

The Maternal Instinct, 16

Gibbons, or Long-Armed Apes, 17

Monkeys, 18

The Sacred Monkeys, 18

The Long-nosed Monkey, 19

Cheek-pouched Monkeys, 19

The Baboon, 19

The Arabian Baboon, 20

The Baboon's Imitative Faculty, 20

The Chackma Baboon, 21

The Baboon's Utility, 21

The Tame Baboon, 22

The Baboon's Cunning, 22

The Baboon's Loyalty, 24

The Baboon's Intelligence, 24

The Bonnet Monkey, 25

Indian Monkeys, 25

The Monkey Outdone, 27

The Monkey Aroused, 29

The Monkey's Affection, 30

American Monkeys, 30

The Capuchin Monkey, 30

The Spider Monkeys, 30

The Howling Monkeys, 31

The Bearded Saki, 31

The Douroucouli, 32

The Marmosets, 32

Sub-Order II.—The Lemurs

The Lemurs, 32

The Tarsier, 33

The Aye-Aye, 33

ORDER II—WING-HANDED ANIMALS

Bats, 35

The Common English Bat, 36

The Vampire Bat, 36

A Traveller's Experience, 37

Megaderma Lyra, 38

ORDER III—INSECT-EATING ANIMALS

The Hedgehog, 39

The Mole, 40

An Enterprising Mole, 41

The Use of the Mole, 41

The Shrew, 42

ORDER IV—FLESH-EATING ANIMALS

Sub-Order I.—The Fissipedia

The Fissipedia, 43

Animals of the Cat Kind, 43

The Lion, 44

The Lion's Character, 44

Attitude towards Man, 45

The Better Part of Valour, 46

The Lion's Strength, 47

The Lion's Affection, 48

The Lion's Docility, 48

The Story of Androcles, 49

A Lion Hunt, 50

A Thrilling Experience, 52

Attacked by a Lion, 53

A Night Surprise, 55

A Lion Outwitted, 56

Old Instincts and New Opportunities, 56

The Tiger, 57

The Tiger's Ravages, 58

An Intrepid Hunter, 60

The Leopard, 61

The Leopard's Tenacity of Life, 61

Hunters Hunted, 63

The Jaguar, 64

The Jaguar's Strength, 65

A Night of Horror, 65

The Puma, 67

The Puma's Ferocity, 67

Animals and Men, 68

The Ocelot, 69

The Clouded Tiger, 70

The Serval, 70

The Common Wild Cat, 70

The Domestic Cat, 71

Cat Superstitions, 71

The Cat as a Hunter, 72

The Cat and Her Young, 72

The Cat as a Foster Mother, 73

The Cat as a Traveller, 74

The Cat as a Sportsman, 75

The Cat's Intelligence, 75

The Lynx, 76

The Chetah as Huntsman, 78

The Civits, 79

The Ichneumon, 79

Dormant Instinct, 80

The Aard Wolf, 80

The Hyæna, 80

The Striped Hyæna, 82

Spotted Hyæna, 82

A Narrow Escape, 83

Animals of the Dog Kind, 84

The Wolf, 84

The Fox, 85

The Jackal, 86

The Wolf's Mode of Attack, 86

The Wolf's Cunning, 87

The Wolf's Cowardice, 88

Hunted by Wolves, 88

A Terrible Alternative, 89

A Marvellous Escape, 89

Tame Wolves, 90

The Cunning of the Fox, 90

The Fox as a Hunter, 91

A Fox Hunt, 92

The Arctic Fox, 93

Wild Dogs, 93

The Dog, 94

The Dog's Understanding, 95

The Dog's Sense of Locality, 97

Dog Friendships and Enmities, 99

The Dog Language, 100

The Dog's Intelligence, 101

Dogs' Mistakes, 104

Eskimo Dogs, 104

A Hard Lot, 106

The Newfoundland Dog, 107

The Newfoundland's Generosity, 108

The Newfoundland's Perception of Danger, 109

The Newfoundland's Sense of Right, 111

The Newfoundland's Fidelity, 112

The Newfoundland under Training, 112

The Sheep Dog, 114

The Sheep Dog's Sagacity, 115

The Sheep Dog's Fidelity, 117

The St. Bernard, 119

The St. Bernard at Work, 121

The Greyhound, 122

The Greyhound's Affection, 123

The Lurcher, 124

The Bloodhound, 125

The Scent of the Bloodhound, 126

The Stag Hound, 127

A Stag Hunt, 127

The Fox Hound, 128

The Fox Hound's Tenacity, 128

The Harrier, 129

The Beagle, 129

The Dalmatian Dog, 130

The Turnspit, 130

The Turnspit's Sagacity, 130

The Pointer, 130

The Pointer's Intelligence, 131

The Setter, 132

Pointers and Setters, 132

The Sagacity of the Setter, 133

The Spaniel, 134

The Sagacity of the Water Spaniel, 135

The Terrier, 136

The Mastiff, 136

The Fidelity of the Mastiff, 136

The Intelligence of the Mastiff, 137

The Mastiff as a Protector, 137

The Bull Dog, 138

The Poodle, 139

The Shoe-black's Poodle, 139

Weasels, Otters, and Badgers, 140

The Polecat, 140

The Weasel, 140

The Weasel and the Kite, 141

The Common Otter, 141

The Badger, 142

The Ratel and the Skunk, 143

The Skunk, 144

The Raccoon and the Coati, 145

The Bear, 145

The Polar Bear, 146

The Black Bear, 147

The Docility of the Bear, 148

The Grizzly Bear, 149

The Brown Bear, 151

The Malayan Bear, 151

Sub-Order II.—The Pinnipedia

Sea Lions, 152

Sea Bears, 153

The Walrus, 154

The Common Seal, 155

The Seal's Docility, 156

ORDER V—WHALES AND DOLPHINS

The Right Whale, 158

The Sperm Whale, 159

The Dolphin, 159

The White Whale, 160

The Narwhal, 160

The Porpoise, 161

The Grampus, 161

ORDER VI—MANATIDÆ

The Sea Cow, 162

ORDER VII—HOOFED ANIMALS

The Horse, 162

The Arabian Horse, 163

The Horse's Affection, 165

The Domestic Horse, 166

The Structure of a Horse, 167

The Horse's Speed, 169

The Horse's Endurance, 170

The Horse's Memory, 171

The Force of Habit, 172

The Intelligence of the Horse, 174

Horse-Play, 176

Horses and Dogs, 177

The Ass, 178

The Sagacity of the Ass, 180

The Instinct of the Ass, 181

The Trained Ass, 182

The Mule and the Hinny, 183

The Zebra, 183

The Tapir, 183

The Rhinoceros, 184

Rhinoceros Hunting, 186

The Tame Rhinoceros, 187

The Hippopotamus, 188

The Haunt of the Hippopotami, 189

The Pig Family, 190

The Boar, 190

The Common Hog, 191

The Babiroussa, 192

The Peccary, 192

The Camel and the Dromedary, 192

The Strength of the Camel, 193

The Camel and his Master, 194

Camel Riding, 195

A Camel's Revenge, 195

The Terrors of the Desert, 196

The Llama, 198

The Deer, 198

The Red Deer, 199

A Stag Hunt, 200

The Tame Stag, 201

The Reindeer, 201

The Moose or Elk, 204

The Fallow Deer and the Roebuck, 204

The Giraffe, 205

The History of the Giraffe, 205

Hollow-Horned Ruminants, 206

The Bull, the Bison, and the Buffalo, 207

The Bull, The Ox, The Cow, 207

The Bull, 208

The Brahmin Bull, 209

The Ox, 209

The Cow, 210

The Pride of a Cow, 210

The Bison, 211

Hunting the Bison, 212

The Buffalo, 213

Hunting the Indian Buffalo, 213

The Cape Buffalo, 214

Hunting the Cape Buffalo, 215

The Zebu, 216

The Yak, 216

The Antelope, 216

The Gazelle, 217

The Sheep and the Goat, 217

The Intelligence of the Sheep, 218

Animals and Music, 218

ORDER VIII—THE ELEPHANT

The Elephant, 219

The Wild Elephant, 220

Elephant Herds, 221

Elephant Friendships, 223

The Sagacity of the Elephant, 224

A Centenarian Elephant, 224

An Elephant Nurse, 225

The Intelligence of the Elephant, 225

ORDER IX—HYRAX

The Conies, 226

ORDER X—THE RODENTS

Animals that Gnaw, 226

Rats and Mice, 227

The Rat Family, 227

The Hamster, 228

Swarms of Rats, 228

Invaded by Rats, 229

Migrations of Rats, 230

The Intelligence of Rats, 231

Saved by a Rat, 231

The Mouse, 232

The Harvest Mouse, 233

The Field Mouse, 233

The Dormouse, 233

The Jerboa, 234

The Beaver, 234

The European Beaver, 234

The American Beaver, 235

The Squirrel, 237

The Squirrel at Home, 238

Tame Squirrels, 239

The Marmot, the Bobak, the Prairie Dog, 240

The Chinchilla, 240

The Porcupine, 240

The Guinea-Pig, 241

Hares and Rabbits, 241

The Common Hare, 241

The Intelligence of the Hare, 242

A Hunted Hare, 243

Tame Hares, 244

The Common Rabbit, 245

ORDER XI—TOOTHLESS ANIMALS

The Sloth, 245

The Pangolin, 246

The Armadillo, 246

The Cape Ant-Bear, 246

The Ant-Eater, 247

ORDER XII—POUCHED ANIMALS

The Opossum, 247

The Kangaroo, 247

Kangaroo Hunting, 248

ORDER XIII—MONOTREMATA

The Duck-billed Platypus, 249

The Australian Hedgehog, 249

Class II.—Aves

Classification, 250

ORDER I

Perching Birds, 250

The Thrushes, 251

The Common Thrush, 251

The Missel Thrush, 252

The Blackbird, 252

The Mocking Bird, 234

The Tailor Bird, 255

The Golden Crested Wren, 255

The Migration of Birds, 255

The Willow Wren, 256

The Common Wren, 256

A Wren's Music Lesson, 257

The House Wren, 257

The Nightingale, 258

The Song of the Nightingale, 258

The Robin Redbreast, 259

The Intelligence of the Robin, 260

The Titmouse, 260

The Golden Oriole, 261

The Shrike, 262

The Jay, 262

The Blue Jay, 263

The Magpie, 264

The Habits of the Magpie, 264

The Raven, 266

Unnatural Parents, 267

The Tame Raven, 268

The Raven and the Dog, 269

The Rook, 270

The Carrion Crow, 270

The Jackdaw, 271

The Chough, 271

The Bird of Paradise, 271

Hunting the Bird of Paradise, 272

The Tanagers, 273

The Tanager, 273

The Swallow, 273

Swallows in Council, 274

The House Martin, 274

The Sand Martin, 275

The Chaffinch. The Goldfinch. The Greenfinch, 275

The Linnet, 276

The Canary, 276

The Tame Canary, 277

The Crossbill, 277

The Bunting, 277

The Starling, 278

The Common Starling, 278

The Weaver Bird, 278

The Lark, 279

The Maternal Instinct of the Lark, 280

The Lark and the Hawk, 281

The Wagtails and the Pipits, 281

The Ant-Eaters, 282

The King Bird, 282

The Chatterers, 282

The Lyre Bird, 283

ORDER II

Climbers and Gapers, 283

The Woodpecker, 284

The Wryneck, 284

The Cuckoo, 284

The Cuckoo and the Hedge-Sparrow, 285

The Cuckoo and the Thrush, 286

The Trogons, 287

The Kingfishers, 287

The Hornbill, 287

The Goat-Suckers, 288

The Whip-poor-Will, 288

The Chuck-Will's-Widow, 288

The Swifts, 289

The Humming Bird, 289

ORDER III

The Parrots, 290

The Intelligence of the Parrot, 290

Famous Parrots, 291

The Grey Parrot, 292

Parrot Talk, 293

ORDER IV

Pigeons, 294

Carrier Pigeons, 294

Pigeons on the Wing, 295

ORDER V

Fowls, 297

The Peacock, 297

The Pheasant, 298

The Partridge, 299

The Wild Turkey, 300

The Domestic Turkey, 300

The Sagacity of the Turkey, 300

Sitting Turkey Cocks, 301

Domestic Fowls, 302

The Common Hen, 303

ORDER VI

The Hoazin, 304

ORDER VII

Birds of Prey, 304

The Eagle, 305

Eagle Shooting, 305

The White-headed Eagle, 306

The Vultures, 307

The Condor, 308

The King of the Vultures, 308

A Feast of Vultures, 309

The Secretary Bird, 310

The Kite. The Osprey. The Buzzard, 311

The Falcon, 311

The Sparrow-Hawk, 312

The Owl, 313

ORDER VIII

Wading Birds, 314

The Cranes, 314

The Heron, 314

The Bittern, 315

The Stork, 315

The Jealousy of the Stork, 315

A Stork's Revenge, 316

ORDER IX

The Goose, 316

The Gratitude of the Goose, 316

A Wild Goose Chase, 317

Goose Friendships, 317

The Goose and the Dog, 318

The Maternal Instinct of the Goose, 318

The Duck, 319

The Swan, 319

The Maternal Instinct of the Swan, 320

The Intelligence of the Swan, 320

The Swan and the Fawn, 321

The Common Sea-Gull, 321

A Tame Sea-Gull, 321

Mother Carey's Chicken, 322

Catching the Stormy Petrel, 322

The Cormorant, 323

The Albatross, 324

The Pelican, 325

A Tame Pelican, 325

The Penguin, 326

The Puffin, 327

ORDER X

The Ostrich, 328

The Ostrich and its Young, 328

The Rhea. The Cassowary. The Emu, 329

Class III.—Reptilia

ORDER I

The Tortoise and the Turtle, 331

The Elephant Tortoise, 332

The Turtle, 333

ORDER II

The Crocodile, 334

The Alligator, 335

A Tame Alligator, 336

ORDER III

Hatteria Punctata, 337

ORDER IV

The Lizards, 337

The Chameleon, 337

The Iguana, 338

The Common Lizard, 338

The Monitor, 339

ORDER V

Snakes, 339

The Viper, 340

The Viper and its Young, 340

The Rattlesnake, 341

The Sting of the Rattlesnake, 341

The Black Snake and the Rattlesnake, 342

The Cobra, 342

Snake Charming, 343

The Cobra as Companion of the Bath, 344

A Night with a Cobra, 345

An Unpleasant Bedfellow, 346

The Boa Constrictor, 346

The Boa and its Prey, 346

The Boa's Appetite, 347

A Terrible Boa, 348

A Narrow Escape, 349

Class IV.—Batrachia

The Batrachia, 350

The Common Toad, 351

Tame Toads, 351

The Common Frog, 352

The Ingenuity of the Frog, 352

The Tree Frog, 353

Class V.—Pisces

Fishes, 354

The Stickleback, 354

The Stickleback and the Leech, 355

The Mackerel, 356

The Sword Fish, 356

The Cod, 357

The Salmon, 358

The Pike, 359

The Herring, 360

The Flying Fish, 360

The Eel, 361

The Gymnotus, 362

Catching the Gymnotus, 362

The Torpedo, 366

The Shark, 366

The White Shark, 367

Sharks in the South Seas, 367

The Rays, 368

Ray Catching, 369

INTRODUCTION.

Science. Science is classified truth. Men study the heavenly bodies, note their characteristics, observe their movements, and define their relationships; and having verified their deductions by repeated experiments, arrange the truths they have discovered into systems, and by classifying their knowledge reduce it to a science: this science they call Astronomy. Astronomy is thus the classified arrangement of all known truths concerning the heavenly bodies. Geology, similarly, is the classified arrangement of all known truths concerning the material structure of the Earth.

The Kingdoms of Nature. The Natural World has been variously divided for the purposes of study. Linnæus divided it into three kingdoms; (I) the Mineral kingdom (II) the Vegetable kingdom and (III) the Animal kingdom, thus naming the three kingdoms in the order of their natural geneses. The Mineral kingdom comprises the inorganic forms of nature,—those which have no organism and which can only increase by external addition. The Vegetable and Animal kingdoms comprise the organic life of nature,—those forms which are provided with means for promoting their own development and propagating species. The Vegetable kingdom, while easily distinguishable from the Mineral kingdom is in some of its forms so similar to the lower forms of animal life as to suggest relationship between the two; while the Animal kingdom, beginning with the lower forms which approximate so closely to vegetable forms, embraces the whole range of animal life and reaches its highest order in man. The science which treats of organic life as a whole is called Biology, while its two departments are separately known as Botany and Zoology. Natural History is a general term popularly applied to the study of Zoology.

Zoology. Zoology is the science of animal life. It deals with the origin of species, and the evolution of the varied forms of animated nature, and treats of the structure, habits, and environment of all living creatures. Scientifically speaking, Zoology is the classified arrangement of all known truths concerning all animal organisms.

Classification. For convenience in study the Animal kingdom is divided into seven Sub-kingdoms, each of which is further divided into classes. These Sub-kingdoms are known as: I Vertebrata, II Arthropoda, III Mollusca, IV Echinodermata, V Vermes, VI Cœlenterata, and VII Protozoa. Sub-kingdom I, Vertebrata, includes all animals distinguished by the possession of Vertebræ or back-bones, and its classes are I Mammalia :—animals that suckle their young; II Aves :—Birds; III Reptilia :—Reptiles; IV Batrachia :—Frogs, Toads, etc.; and V Pisces :—Fishes. Sub-kingdom II, Arthropoda, includes the Insect families, etc., which it also divides into classes. Sub-kingdom III, Mollusca, animals of the cuttle-fish order, including limpets, oysters, and slugs. Sub-kingdom IV, Echinodermata, a large number of marine animals, such as the star-fish and the sea-urchin. Sub-kingdom V, Vermes, the various classes of worms. Sub-kingdom VI, Cœlenterata, corals and sponges, etc., etc., and Sub-kingdom VII, Protozoa, protoplasms and the lowest forms of animal life. This volume is devoted to the illustration of the first of these sub-kingdoms, the Vertebrata, with its five classes, Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, Batrachia and Pisces.

The Gorilla

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.

SUB-KINGDOM I—VERTEBRATA.

CLASS I—MAMMALIA.

ORDER I. PRIMATES. The most perfect of all animals is man, for besides having a marvellous animal organism he possesses reason, which so far transcends the highest instincts of other animals, that it places him in a category by himself.

SUB-ORDER I.

Man-shaped Animals. Next to man it is convenient to deal with man-shaped animals, ( anthropoidea )—those animals which most resemble him in external appearance and internal organism. This brings us to the order called Quadrumana or four-handed animals which include Lemurs and their allied forms, and manlike monkeys. Monkeys are divided into five families, one at least of which has to be further divided into sub-families to accommodate its variety. These families are: I The Apes; II The Sacred Monkeys; III The Cheek-pouched Monkeys; IV The Cebidae, with its several sub-families, and V The Marmosets. The first three of these families inhabit the old world, the last two belong to the new.

The Ape Family. The family of the Apes includes the Gorilla, the Chimpanzee, the Orang-utan or mias, the Gibbons or long-armed Apes, and the Siamang; of these the Gorilla and the Chimpanzee belong to the West of Africa, the Orang-utan to Borneo, the Gibbons to Assam, the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Cambodia and Hainan, and the Siamang to Java and Sumatra.

The Gorilla. The gorilla is the largest of the ape family, and sometimes attains to the height of six feet. It is also the fiercest, if not the strongest, of man-shaped animals. It belongs to the genus Troglodytes of which the chimpanzee is the only other species, and it inhabits a somewhat limited range of Equatorial Africa, where it makes for itself nests of sticks and foliage, among the lower branches of trees, and lives upon berries, nuts and fruits. Though apparently a vegetarian the gorilla has enormous physical strength. His arms bear much the same proportion to the size of his body as those of man do relatively, but his lower limbs are shorter, and have no calves, the leg growing thicker from the knee downwards. The hands are broad, thick, and of great length of palm, and are remarkable for their strength; the feet, broader than those of man, and more like hands, are very large and of great power. The gorilla uses his hands when walking or running, but as his arms are longer than those of other apes, and his legs shorter he stoops less than they do in moving from place to place. The gorilla herds in small companies, or rather families, one adult male being the husband and father of the band. The females are much smaller than the males.

The Ancestors of the Gorilla. The gorilla, though rediscovered in recent years, was apparently known to the ancients. Hanno, a Carthaginian admiral who flourished some five or six hundred years B.C., once sailed from Carthage with a fleet of sixty vessels and a company of 30,000 persons, under instructions to proceed past the Pillars of Hercules (the Straits of Gibraltar), with a view to planting colonies on the western coast of Africa. In the course of their travels they discovered several islands inhabited by wild creatures with hairy bodies. There were, says the ancient navigator, "many more females than males, all equally covered with hair on all parts of the body. The interpreters called them gorillas. On pursuing them, we could not succeed in taking a single male, they all escaped with astonishing swiftness, and threw stones at us; but we took three females, who defended themselves with so much violence, that we were obliged to kill them; but we brought their skins, stuffed with straw, to Carthage. Professor Owen remarks upon this that though such creatures would suggest to Hanno and his crew no other idea of their nature than that of a kind of human being, yet the climbing faculty, the hairy body, and the skinning of the dead specimens strongly suggest that they were great apes. The fact that apes somewhat resembling the negroes, of human size and with hairy bodies, still exist on the west coast of Africa renders it highly probable that such were the creatures which Hanno saw, captured, and called 'gorullai'."

A Gorilla Hunt. Paul du Chaillu, in his Stories of the Gorilla Country, gives a graphic description of his first sight of these wild men of the woods. He was inspecting the ruins of a native village with a party of Africans, when they discovered footprints which the natives immediately recognised as those of the gorilla. It was, says he, the first time I had seen the footprints of these wild men of the woods, and I cannot tell you how I felt. Here was I now, it seemed, on the point of meeting, face to face, that monster, of whose ferocity, strength and cunning, the natives had told me so much, and which no man before had hunted. By the tracks it was easy to know that there must have been several gorillas in company. We prepared at once to follow them. My men were remarkably silent, for they were going on an expedition of more than usual risk; for the male gorilla is literally the king of the forest—the king of the equatorial regions. He and the crested lion of Mount Atlas are the two fiercest and strongest beasts of that continent. The lion of South Africa cannot be compared with either for strength or courage. As we left the camp, the men and women left behind crowded together, with fear written on their faces. Miengai, Ngolai, and Makinda set out for the hunt in one party; myself and Yeava formed another. We determined to keep near each other, so that in case of trouble we might be at hand to help one another. For the rest silence and a sure aim were the only cautions to be given. I confess that I was never more excited in my life. For years I had heard of the terrible roar of the gorilla, of its vast strength, of its fierce courage when only wounded. I knew that we were about to pit ourselves against an animal which even the enormous leopards of the mountains fear, which the elephants let alone and which perhaps has driven away the lion out of his territory; for the king of beasts, so numerous elsewhere in Africa, is not met with in the land of the gorilla. We descended a hill, crossed a stream on a fallen log, crept under the trees, and presently approached some huge boulders of granite. In the stream we had crossed we could see plainly that the animals had just crossed it, for the water was still disturbed. Along side of the granite blocks lay an immense dead tree, and about this the gorillas were likely to be. Our approach was very cautious. With guns cocked and ready we advanced through the dense wood, which cast a gloom even at mid-day over the whole scene. I looked at my men and saw that they were even more excited than myself. Slowly we pressed on through the dense bush, dreading almost to breathe for fear of alarming the beasts. Makinda was to go to the right of the rock, while I took the left. Unfortunately he and his party circled it at too great a distance. The watchful animals saw him. Suddenly I was startled by a strange, discordant, half human cry, and beheld four young and half-grown gorillas running towards the deep forest. I was not ready. We fired but hit nothing. Then we rushed on in pursuit; but they knew the woods better than we. Once I caught a glimpse of one of the animals again; but an intervening tree spoiled my mark, and I did not fire. We pursued them till we were exhausted, but in vain. I protest I felt almost like a murderer when I saw the gorilla this first time. As they ran on their hind legs with their heads down, their bodies inclined forward, their whole appearance was that of hairy men running for their lives. Add to this their cry, so awful yet with something human in its discordance, and you will cease to wonder that the natives have the wildest superstitions about these 'wild men of the woods.'

Du Chaillu's First Gorilla. In his Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa du Chaillu gives an equally thrilling account of the capture of his first gorilla. He says: "We started early, and pushed through the most dense and impenetrable part of the forest; in hopes to find the very home of the beast I so much wished to shoot. Hour after hour we travelled and yet no signs of gorillas. Only the everlasting, little, chattering monkeys—and not many of these—and occasionally birds. Suddenly Miengai uttered a little cluck with his tongue which is the native way of showing that something is stirring and that a sharp look-out is necessary. And presently I noticed, ahead of us seemingly, a noise as of some one breaking down branches or twigs of trees. This was a gorilla—I knew at once by the eager satisfied looks of the men. We walked with the greatest care making no noise at all. Suddenly, as we were yet creeping along, in a silence which made a heavy breath seem loud and distinct, the woods were at once filled with the tremendous barking roar of the gorilla. Then the underbrush swayed rapidly just ahead, and presently before us stood an immense male gorilla. He had gone through the jungle on all fours; but when he saw our party he erected himself and looked us boldly in the face. He stood about a dozen yards from us, and was a sight I think I shall never forget. Nearly six feet high (he proved four inches shorter), with immense body, huge chest, and great muscular arms, with fiercely glaring, large, deep gray eyes, and a hellish expression of face, which seemed to me like some nightmare vision: thus stood before us this king of the African forest. He was not afraid of us. He stood there and beat his breast with his huge fists till it resounded like an immense bass-drum, which is the gorillas' mode of offering defiance; meantime giving vent to roar after roar. The roar of the gorilla is the most singular and awful noise heard in these African woods. It begins with a sharp bark, like an angry dog, then glides into a deep bass roll, which literally and closely resembles the roll of distant thunder along the sky. So deep is it that it seems to proceed less from the mouth and throat than from the deep chest and vast paunch. His eyes began to flash fiercer fire as we stood motionless on the defensive, and the crest of short hair which stands on his forehead began to twitch rapidly up and down, while his powerful fangs were shown as he again sent forth his thunderous roar. He advanced a few steps—then stopped to utter that hideous roar again—advanced again, and finally stopped when at a distance of about six yards from us. And here, just as he began another of his roars, beating his breast with rage, we fired, and killed him. With a groan which had something terribly human in it, and yet was full of brutishness, he fell forward on his face. The body shook convulsively for a few minutes, the limbs moved about in a struggling way, and then all was quiet: death had done its work, and I had leisure to examine the huge body. It proved to be five feet eight inches high, and the muscular development of the arms and breast showed what immense strength it had possessed." A smaller gorilla, shot by M. du Chaillu on another occasion, measured five feet six inches in height, fifty inches round the chest, and his arms had a spread of seven feet two inches.

A Young Gorilla. A young gorilla which some natives succeeded in capturing for M. du Chaillu, and which he named Fighting Joe, forms the subject of one of his most interesting chapters. The young cub was caught by the adroit use of a cloth which one of the natives managed to throw over his head, but not until he had severely bitten one of his captors in the hand and taken a mouthful out of the leg of another. He was about three years old, three feet six inches in height and of great strength. A cage was made for him, from which he twice escaped, on each occasion being recaptured by the use of fishing nets. On his first escape he concealed himself under the bed in M. du Chaillu's house. Running in, says the writer, to get one of my guns, I was startled by an angry growl. It was master Joe; there was no mistake about it; I knew his growl too well. I cleared out faster than I came in. I instantly shut the windows and called in my people to guard the door. When Joe saw the crowd of black faces he became furious, and with his eyes glaring, and every sign of rage in his face and body, he got out from beneath the bed. He was about to make a rush at all of us. He was not afraid. A stampede of my men took place, I shut the door quickly (from outside) and left Joe master of the premises. While the men outside were devising means for his recapture, the young gorilla carefully inspected the furniture and M. du Chaillu became apprehensive for the safety of his clock, the ticking of which was likely to attract unwelcome attention. However, by means of a net dexterously thrown over him, he was secured once more and carried back to his cage, which in the meantime had been repaired, the full strength of four men being required for the purpose. On his second escape he made for the woods and took refuge in a large clump of trees. This we surrounded, says M. du Chaillu. He did not ascend a tree, but stood defiantly at the border of the wood. About one hundred and fifty of us surrounded him. As we moved up he began to yell, and made a dash upon a poor fellow who was in advance. The fellow ran and tumbled down in affright. By his fall he escaped the tender mercies of Joe's teeth; but he also detained the little rascal long enough for the nets to be thrown over him. But Joe was a child of nature and could not live with the chain of civilisation around his neck, and he died somewhat suddenly some ten days afterwards and finally found his way to the British museum.

Gorilla Superstitions. According to du Chaillu, the natives entertain many superstitions about the gorilla, among the commonest of which is the belief that some gorillas are inhabited by human spirits. In his Stories of the Gorilla Country he gives an interesting illustration of this. In the evening, he says, "the men told stories about gorillas. 'I remember,' said one, 'my father told me he once went out to the forest, when just in his path he met a great gorilla. My father had his spear in his hand. When the gorilla saw the spear he began to roar; then my father was terrified and dropped the spear. When the gorilla saw that my father had dropped the spear he was pleased. He looked at him, and then left him and went into the thick forest. Then my father was glad and went on his way.' Here all shouted: 'Yes! so we must do when we meet the gorilla. Drop the spear; that appeases him.' Next Gambo spoke. 'Several dry seasons ago, a man suddenly disappeared from my village after an angry quarrel. Some time after an Ashira of that village was out in the forest. He met a very large gorilla. That gorilla was the man who had disappeared; he had turned into a gorilla. He jumped upon the poor Ashira and bit a piece out of his arm; then he let him go. Then the man came back with the bleeding arm. He told me this, I hope we shall not meet such gorillas.' Chorus : 'No; we shall not meet such wicked gorillas.' I myself, says du Chaillu, afterwards met that man in the Ashira country. I saw his maimed arm and he repeated the same story. Then one of the men spoke up: 'If we kill a gorilla to-morrow, I should like to have a part of the brain for a fetich. Nothing makes a man so brave as to have a fetich of gorilla's brain. That gives a man a strong heart.' Chorus (of those who remained awake) 'Yes; that gives a man a strong heart.'" A fetich of the brain of the gorilla is said also to help its owner in love as well as war.

The Chimpanzee. The chimpanzee is a near neighbour of the gorilla in Equatorial Africa though he appears to have a more extended range. He is found in Sierra Leone and in the country lying to the north of the river Congo, and according to native accounts is gregarious in his habits, travelling in formidable companies, who carry sticks and make effective use of them. They are said to reach maturity at nine or ten years of age and to attain a height of from four to five feet. Like the gorillas they have immensely powerful limbs, and have been known without apparent effort to break off branches of trees which a man would have been powerless to bend.

The Docility and Sagacity of the Chimpanzee. The chimpanzee differs from the gorilla in his amenability to civilisation. The gorilla, however young, seems incapable of being tamed; while the chimpanzee in its infancy and youth at least has often been domesticated, though like most other apes, as it approaches maturity, it needs to be kept under strong control. Captain Brown in his Habits and Characteristics of Animals and Birds gives the following illustration of the docility and sagacity of the chimpanzee. He says: M. de Grandpré saw, on board of a vessel, a female chimpanzee, which exhibited wonderful proofs of intelligence. She had learnt to heat the oven; she took great care not to let any of the coals fall out, which might have done mischief in the ship; and she was very accurate in observing when the oven was heated to the proper degree, of which she immediately apprized the baker, who, relying with perfect confidence upon her information, carried his dough to the oven as soon as the chimpanzee came to fetch him. This animal performed all the business of a sailor, spliced ropes, handled the sails, and assisted at unfurling them; and she was, in fact considered by the sailors as one of themselves. The vessel was bound for America; but the poor animal did not live to see that country, having fallen a victim to the brutality of the first mate, who inflicted very cruel chastisement upon her, which she had not deserved. She endured it with the greatest patience, only holding out her hands in a suppliant attitude, in order to break the force of the blows she received. But from that moment she steadily refused to take any food, and died on the fifth day from grief and hunger. She was lamented by every person on board, not insensible to the feelings of humanity, who knew the circumstances of her fate.

The Orang-utan. The orang-utan is one of the largest of the ape species and until the discovery of the gorilla was supposed to be the largest. It is said sometimes to attain to the height of six feet, and some travellers' tales credit it with even greater height. The orang is possessed of great strength but is of a docile disposition when brought under civilisation, and even in a wild state is often quiet and peaceable except when attacked. It inhabits country that is low, level, and swampy, and that is at the same time covered with lofty virgin forests. It belongs to the genus Simia of which it is the single species.

The Habits of the Orang-utan. The following account of the orang is given by Mr. Brooke of Sarawak. On the habits of the orangs, as far as I have been able to observe them, I may remark that they are as dull and as slothful as can well be conceived, and on no occasion, when pursuing them, did they move so fast as to preclude my keeping pace with them easily through a moderately clear forest; and even when obstructions below (such as wading up to the neck) allowed them to get away some distance, they were sure to stop and allow us to come up. I never observed the slightest attempt at defence; and the wood, which sometimes rattled about our ears, was broken by their weight, and not thrown, as some persons represent. If pushed to extremity, however, the pappan could not be otherwise than formidable; and one unfortunate man, who with a party was trying to catch one alive, lost two of his fingers, besides being severely bitten on the face, whilst the animal finally beat off his pursuers and escaped. When hunters wish to catch an adult, they cut down a circle of trees round the one on which he is seated, and then fell that also, and close before he can recover himself, and endeavour to bind him. The rude hut which they are stated to build in the trees would be more properly called a seat, or nest, for it has no roof or cover of any sort. The facility with which they form this seat is curious; and I had an opportunity of seeing a wounded female weave the branches together, and seat herself in a minute. She afterwards received our fire without moving, and expired in her lofty abode, whence it cost us much trouble to dislodge her. The adult male I killed was seated lazily on a tree; and when approached only took the trouble to interpose the trunk between us, peeping at me and dodging as I dodged. I hit him on the wrist, and he was afterwards despatched.

The Walk of the Orang-utan. In locomotion the orang disdains the earth and perambulates the vernal terraces of the forest trees. It is a singular sight, says Mr. Wallace, to watch a mias (orang-utan) making his way leisurely through a forest. He walks deliberately along some of the larger branches in the semi-erect attitude which the great length of his arms and the shortness of his legs cause him naturally to assume, and seems always to choose those branches which intermingle with an adjoining tree, on approaching which he stretches out his long arms, and seizing the opposing boughs, grasps them together with both hands, seems to try their strength, and then deliberately swings himself across to the next branch on which he walks along as before. He never jumps or springs, or even appears to hurry himself, and yet manages to get along almost as quickly as a person can run through the forest beneath.

The Strength of the Orang-utan. The Dyaks, says Mr. Wallace, "all declare that the mias is never attacked by any animal in the forest, with two rare exceptions; and the accounts received of these are so curious that I give them nearly in the